Georgia O’Keefe’s role in American modernism was key. She stood her ground as an artist, painting her environment as she saw it, most times in living colour.
While other artists struggled to conform to professional artistry standards, O’Keefe stayed rooted to her ideas only borrowing what would edify what she had already envisioned. With the stroke of a brush, she brought those ideas to life. O’Keefe belonged to her own school of thought, and she shared it with the world through art.
As much as she drew inspiration from natural scenery, she infused other artists techniques such as cropping from the legendary Paul Strand and incorporated artistic techniques from her soul mate in art, Arthur Dove.
From the Lake I Painting is one of her masterpieces. In this piece, she indulges us in her world through one of the most evocative paintings of Lake George. She sought to capture its emotions all the while infusing colour.
O’Keeffe had a keen appreciation for nature and spelt its beauty with every stroke of her brush. Even in its stormy state, O’Keefe manages to infuse colour, again depicting mostly what her mind perceived rather than the harsh reality.
Her infusion of colour in her abstract painting in circumstances that are deemed unpleasant, such as a stormy lake George shows her appreciation for her environment even when it did not seem to favour her.
It mirrors her positivity of the world around her, choosing to celebrate the colours and rhythms as opposed to the devastating effects associated with storms.
She depicts the storm in a more gentle way, through her signature motif. She received accolades for her genius art and left her footprint in the arts at a time when women were not as celebrated.
